LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Eric C. Bauman released the following statement regardingthe impacts of repealing the Affordable Care Act and implementing “Trumpcare” in its place:

“We waited for years to see the Republican answer to the ‘Affordable Care Act,’ and now we can say with certainty that it is just as mercilessly horrific as we feared it might be. With the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office forecast predicting that 24 million people will lose their insurance, and with seniors, the sick, and the poor predicted to pick up the newly incurred costs, ‘Trumpcare’ does nothing short of helping the rich get richer while the rest of us are left to get sick and die.

“On passage of this bill, President Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan will have blood on their hands. How dare they preach about ‘individual freedom’ just to give their rich friends tax breaks, all while people who are facing a cancer or bypass surgery wait to hear whether they will be able to afford the procedure that allows them to live past next week.

“We will continue to lead the fight against Trump and the GOP’s hateful and divisive policies, and we issue an ever more urgent call to all our federal representatives, as well as every state and local leader, to fight against this evil bill. Our lives are literally on the line.”